Means for supporting trolley-tracks.



E. J. G. PHILLIPS.

MEANS FOR SUPPORTING TROLLEY TRACKS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 17, I915.

Patented Jan. 11, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 E. J. G. PHILLIPS.

MEANS FOR SUPPORTING TROLLEY TRACKS.

. 1 1 7 5 Patented Jan. 11, 1916.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2. I i

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ELLIS J'. G. PHILLIPS, OF AURORA, ILLINOIS, ASSIG-NOB TO RICHAE-DS-VIILCOX MANU- FACTURING COMPANY, OF AUROBA, ILLINOIS, A GORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

' MEANS roe surronrnvu reenter-snacks.

To all whom it may concern. I

Be 1t known that I, ELLIS JJG'. PHILLIPs,

a citizen of the United States, residing-at Aurora, in the county of Kane and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Means for Supporting that are closed byone or more large and heavy'doors suspended by rolleys from an overhead track, it is not feasible to uncover the doorway by moving the door or doors in a straight line parallel with the wall, in which the doorway is formed. To permit a trolley-hung door to be moved back close to and substantially parallel with a wallthat isat right-angles to the wall in which the doorway is formed, there have been provided two trolley-tracks at right-angles to each other, one secured over the doorway and the other secured to the side wall toward which the door is to be moved, a trolley or wheeled 1 7 frame running on each of said tracks, and

the pendants or rods that connect the trol leys or wheeled frames with the door having aisuitable swi'veled connectionwith one or the other of said parts to permit the required turning movement ofthe door to bring itto the required open or closed position. In

such an arrangement of the parts, however,

it was deemed necessary to have the track that was secured to the side wall higher up on the wallthan the other track and with its end extending over the adjacent end portion of such other track. Such arrangement has been objectionable for two reasons, viz: it'rnade necessary, of course, a longer pendant or rod for connecting the door with the trolleythatran on that higher trackthan was employed between the door andthe trolley on the other track, and in order to" have the'door, when in closed position, come snugly against the door jambs it was necessary to cut an opening in the track that extends over the doorway, into which open Specification of Letters Patent. Pgwgntygdj Jan 111, 19116, Application filed May 17, 1915. Serial No. 28,649.

tracks arranged at an angle and to overcome the objections above noted. To that ,end, I have provided an improved joint bracket adapted to receive the adjacent ends of the two tracks that are arranged at an angle to each other whereby said tracks Wlll I be in the same horizontal plane, thus'making it unnecessary to make one pendant or rod longer than the other.

It is a further object to so construct such bracket as to permit one of the trolleys to extend into the bracket, at the limit of movement in one direction oi? the door, sufliciently far to causeits pendant or rod to be .in line with the longitudinal center of the ing the pendant ofthe hanger on the other i track might enter,for, of course, the pendant or rod of one trolley must always lie substantially in line with the longitudinal door may come snugly against the door wall when .in open. position.

center of the other trolley inorder that the other trolley, thus insuring the door being caused to lie very close to the side wall when the door is fully opened and to the jambs of the doorway when such door is closed.

These objects Iattain by the means shown in the drawings and hereinafter particularly described. 7 r

In the drawings,-Figures 1 and 2 are bottom and top views, respectively, of the improved bracket; Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken at line 3-8 of Fig. 2; Fig. l is an end View of the bracket with two pieces of track of well-known form supported therein, one of such pieces of track being shown in section; Fig. 5 is a horizontal section through the bracket and two pieces of track supported by it, the section being taken at line 5-5 of Fig. -11; Fig. 6 is a plan view" of the bracket and the two tracks supported thereby as arranged for use in a building, and showing a. door partially opened, such door being supported by trolleys runningon, the tracks; Fig. 7 is a perspective view'of the parts shown in Fig. 6, but showing the door completely opened and turned against the side wall of the building; and Fig. 8 is a detail, being an enlarged vertical section...

taken at line S8 of Fig. 7 and showing the swivele'd connection of the hangerrod with the trolley or wheeled frame, and the projection of one of the extensions of the bracket into asocket in one of the building walls.

As shown in the drawings, the bracket, which is best made as a single casting, com- "prises two track-supporting members indicated, respectively, by 10 and11,'said members being the same in size, shape and for- F mation and each adapted to receive and hold tracks abut. by reference to Fig. 8, this construction with the track-supporting members 10 and 11, and each projecting a considerable distance beyond the plane of one of the inner sides of the bracket,by inner sides be ing meant those sides that lie against the supporting walls of a building when the bracket is secured in place in a corner, as shown in Figs. 6 and 7. These extensions are each shown as having tl eir upper and lower walls rounded, which produces an end conforming approximately to the trolleywheels that enter the extensions, and thereby make a more perfect abutment or stop, as'hereinafter described. Each abutment is shown as having an opening in its outer end, but such opening has no function in connection with the operation of the door, but is made to facilitate the operation of casting the bracket. So far. as concerns the use of the bracket, it may, therefore, be considered as having a closed end.

In the bottom of eachtrack-supporting member is a centrally-located slot,that in the member 10 being indicated by 14:, and that in the member 11 by 15. These slots communicate with each other at their inner slots in the pieces of track supported by the 1 bracket. As clearly shown, the walls of that portion of the members 10 and 11 that receives the track pieces a and b are diminished in thickness to an amount substantially equal to the thickness of the metal of the track, and thereby an interior shoulder is formed against which the ends of the Furthermore. as will be seen causes the inner face of the bottom of the bracket beyond the shoulder to be substantially in the same plane as the upper faces of the track-rails proper, and hence the forward trolley-wheels pass over the track-railv ends with but little, if any, jar.

16 indicates suitable lugs through which screws or bolts are to be passed for attaching the bracket as a whole to the walls of a building.

In'use my improved bracket will be secured in place in the angle of two walls, as

shown in Figs. 6 and 7, with an end of each track-secti0n a and Z) inserted in the members 10 and 11, respectively, as described, or-

dinary brackets 0 being employed, as usual, to further support the track. The buildlng wall in which'the "doorway appears 1s indicated by d, and the side wall against which the door f is adapted to be moved is indr cated by e. Inasmuch as the straight faces of the bracket must rest snugly against the building walls, each of such walls must be recessed or provided with an opening to receive one of the extensions, as clearly shown in Fig. 8 and indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 6. Y J I In use, with my no el bracket securedm the corner of a building as shown in Figs.

6' and 7 and the tracks aand Z1 secured in place as there shown, a door is to be hung from a trolley or wheeled frame running in each track, and by reasonof the swiveh ing character of the connection between the hanger-rod andthe frame of the trolley, as seen in FiguS, the trolleys can be moved freely on their respective-tracks to open or close the door,'as will be clear by an inspection of Fig. 6 where the door isshown as partially opened. In order to havethe door lie snugly against the side wall 0, it is essential that the trolley on the track a shall move into the corner bracket until its pendant or rodis in the angle of the slot 1 l15. As it reaches this position, the forward wheels will rest on the bottom wall of the extension and will abut against the rounded end wall of the extension 19-, which, of course, will arrest the further progress of the trolley. In the closing movement of the door thetrolley on. track I) will enter the said corner bracket and its forward wheels will pass into and be stopped by the end wall of the extension 13, at which-time its pendant or rod will he in the angle of said slot 14 --15, and thereby insure the door being in proper position to close the doorice way,'for such pendant or-rod will then lie 7 directly in line with the longitudinal center of the trolley that runs onthe other tracks.

The bracket can be usedin either corner of a' room at the side of a doorway inas-' much as bothtrack-supporting members and their respective extensions are the'same in every respect.

That which I claim as my invention, and

desire to secure by'Letters Patent, is,.-

1. As a new article of manufacture, a joint-bracket for trolley-tracks comprising two track-supporting members at an angle. to each other, the bottom wall of each memher being slotted for the passage of a doorhanger pendant, and means for permitting .the attachment of the bracket to two walls of a building-andin the angle-formed by such walls, 7 V

2. As a newarticle of manufacture, a

joint-bracket for trolley-tracks comprising two track-supporting members at an agle to each other, each member having a slot in its bottom wall, the two slots opening into each other.

3. As a new article of manufacture, a joint-bracket for trolley-tracks comprising two track-supporting members at an angle to each other and in the same horizontal plane, each of said members having means for permitting the attachment of the bracket to two walls of a building and in the angle formed by such walls.

4. As a new article of manufacture, a jointbracket for trolley-tracks comprising two track-supporting members at an angle to each other and means for causing the pendant of a trolley entering either member to come to rest opposite the other member.

5. As a new article of manufacture, a jointbracket for trolley-tracks comprising two track-supporting members at an angle to each other, each member having a slot in it for the passage therethrough of a trolley pendant and the two slots opening into each other, and means for causing the pendant of a trolley running on either member to come to rest in the angle formed by the two slots.

6. As a new article of manufacture, a joint-bracket for trolley-tracks comprising two track-supporting members at an angle to each other, each having an extension projecting beyond the plane of the inner side of the other member.

7. As a new article of manufacture, a joint-bracket for trolley-tracks comprising two track-supporting members at an angle to each other, each having an extension projecting beyond the plane of the inner side of the other member, said track-supporting members each having a slot, such slots communicating with each other.

8. As a new article of manufacture, a joint-bracket for trolley-tracks comprising two track-supporting members at an angle to each other, each having an extension be yond the plane of the inner side of the other member, said track-supporting members each having a slot, such slots communicating with each other, and the extensions each having a bottom wall adapted to support the wheels of a trolley.

9. As a new article of manufacture, a joint-bracket for trolley-tracks comprising two track-supporting members at an angle to each other, each member having an extension projecting beyond the plane of the innor side of the other member, said extensions each having a closed end.

10. As a new article of manufacture, a joint-bracket for trolley-tracks comprising two traclcsupporting members at an angle to each other, each member having an extension projecting beyond the plane of the inner side of the other member, said extensions each having a curved wall closing one end.

11. As a new article of manufacture, a joint-bracket for trolley-tracks comprising two track-supporting members at an angle to each other, the bottom wall of each memher being slightly recessed in its outer end portion to form a shoulder whereby the surface of a piece of track placed in said recess will lie substantially flush with the balance of said bottom wall.

ELLIS J. G. PHILLIPS Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G. 

